Chinese senior diplomat meets with Syria’s Assad

China's Special Envoy for West Asia, Zhai Jun, has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, following the recent efforts on retaining a political solution for the long-running Syrian conflict.

Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the Chinese envoy held talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in the capital Damascus on Saturday, before meeting with Assad.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry had announced Zhai Jun’s planned visit to Damascus a day earlier.

The latest development comes almost a week after Moscow hosted a new round of meetings among the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran as part of efforts made to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus.

Achieving lasting peace and security topped the agenda of the four-party talks. The participants reaffirmed their desire to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria and intensify efforts for the speedy return of Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, China has repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional lifting of all US sanctions against Syria, so that the war-torn Arab country could develop its economy and compensate for the losses caused by the war.

Last April, Beijing voiced concern about the dire economic situation in Syria, emphasizing that the responsibility of helping the Syrian people lies with the international community.

Also last March, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, reiterated at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council that “Syria's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity must be recognized, as well as the Syrian people's right to sustainable livelihood opportunities and development.”

Syria suffers harsh economic woes because of the US military presence in the country and the looting of its natural resources.

SS